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Peggy Wood | |
|---|---|
 Photograph of Wood in 1917 | |
| Born | Mary Margaret Wood (1892-02-09)February 9, 1892 Brooklyn, New York, U.S. |
| Died | March 18, 1978(1978-03-18) (aged 86) Stamford, Connecticut, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Actress, singer |
| Years active | 1910–1969 |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 1 |
Mary Margaret Wood (February 9, 1892 – March 18, 1978) was an American actress of stage, film, and television. She is best remembered for her performance as the title character in theCBStelevision seriesMama (1949–1957), for which she was nominated for aPrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series; her starring role asNaomi, Ruth's mother-in-law, inThe Story of Ruth (1960); and her final screen appearance asMother Abbess inThe Sound of Music (1965), for which she received nominations for both anAcademy Award and aGolden Globe Award.
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Mary Margaret Wood was born inBrooklyn, New York, the daughter of Eugene Wood, a journalist, and Mary Gardner, a telegraph operator. She studied voice in France with sopranoEmma Calvé. Wood was an early member of theActors' Equity Association, spending nearly 50 years onstage, beginning in the chorus and becoming known as aBroadway singer and star. Wood made her stage debut in 1910, as part of the chorus forNaughty Marietta. In 1917, she starred inMaytime, in which she introduced the song "Will You Remember".[1] She starred in several other musicals before playing the role of Portia in a 1928 production ofThe Merchant of Venice. From the late 1920s until the late 1930s, Wood had lead roles in musicals staged inLondon andNew York. She was selected byNoël Coward to star in the original London production of his wildly successful operettaBitter Sweet.[2]
According to a 1920 profile, Wood also wrote plays "in collaboration with her father and withSamuel Merwin."[3] She was a member of theAlgonquin Round Table.[4]
In 1941, she starred in the New York premiere ofBlithe Spirit as Ruth Condomine, whose husband is tormented by the ghost of his deceased first wife. Wood did not star in many films. Her few film appearances include roles inJalna,A Star Is Born,Call It a Day,The Housekeeper's Daughter,The Bride Wore Boots,Magnificent Doll, andDream Girl. From 1949 to 1957, she played matriarch Marta Hansen on the popular seriesMama, based on the1943 Broadway play and 1948 filmI Remember Mama. WhenGeneral Foods cancelled the program, there was so much protest that CBS brought it back on Sunday afternoon, this time as a filmed series. As the network did not have all the affiliate station clearances that were needed, the show was put into syndication, where it was a huge success. Producers filmed 26 episodes.[citation needed]
Following "Mama", Wood was seen in episodes ofZane Grey Theatre andThe Nurses. She co-starred with comedianImogene Coca on Broadway inThe Girls in 509. In October 1963, she and Ruth Gates appeared in the one-act playOpening Night, which played in off-Broadway. Wood portrayed Fanny Ellis, a once famous star who prepares for a performance; the play lasted 47 performances. Gates played "Aunt Jenny" onMama, which starred Wood.[5]
Wood returned to movies in the 1960CinemaScope productionThe Story of Ruth in a co-starring role as the mother-in-law, Naomi, of the title character, although she pointed out the lack of verisimilitude in her own casting as a biblical matriarch, i.e. a "blonde, blue-eyed Jewess". Her final screen appearance was as the Mother Abbess inThe Sound of Music (1965), for which she was nominated for theAcademy Award for Best Supporting Actress and theGolden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture. She was thrilled to be in the movie, but she knew she could no longer sing "Climb Ev'ry Mountain". She was dubbed (for singing) byMargery MacKay. In her autobiography,Marni Nixon, who appeared in the film as Sister Sophia, said Peggy especially liked McKay's singing voice because she sounded as Peggy did in her younger days. In 1969, Wood joined the cast ofOne Life to Live as Dr. Kate Nolan, and had a recurring role until the end of the year.
Her first autobiographyHow Young You Look was published by Farrar and Rinehart in 1941. The updated versionArts and Flowers appeared in 1963. She wrote a biography of actorJohn Drew, Jr. and a novel titledThe Star Wagon as well as co-wrote the playMiss Quis. Wood received numerous awards for her theatrical work and for a while was president of theAmerican National Theater and Academy (ANTA).[6]
Wood was married and widowed twice. Her first husband (poet/writerJohn Van Alstyne Weaver) died at the age of 44. She gave birth to their son (David Weaver) in 1927 at the age of 35. Her second husband (William H. Walling, whom she wed in 1946) was an executive in the printing business who died in 1973. They were married for 27 years.[7] She was a devoutEpiscopalian and a member of the Episcopal Actors Guild.[6]
Wood died on March 18, 1978, at age 86, inStamford, Connecticut, following a stroke.[6][8]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1919 | Almost a Husband | Eva McElwyn | Lost film |
| 1929 | Wonder of Women | Brigitte | Lost film |
| 1934 | Handy Andy | Ernestine Yates | |
| 1935 | The Right to Live | Nurse Wayland | |
| Jalna | Meg Whiteoaks | ||
| 1937 | Call It a Day | Ethel Francis | |
| A Star Is Born | Miss Phillips (clerk in Central Casting) | ||
| 1939 | The Housekeeper's Daughter | Olga | |
| 1946 | The Bride Wore Boots | Grace Apley | |
| Magnificent Doll | Mrs. Payne | ||
| 1948 | Dream Girl | Lucy Allerton | |
| 1960 | The Story of Ruth | Naomi | |
| 1965 | The Sound of Music | The Reverend Mother Abbess | Nominated—Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1948 | The Philco Television Playhouse | Mrs. Oliver Jordan | episode:Dinner at Eight |
| 1949 | The Philco Television Playhouse | Florence McDavid | episode:Dark Hammock |
| 1951 | Pulitzer Prize Playhouse | Gladys | episode:The Skin of Our Teeth |
| 1949–1957 | Mama | Mama Marta Hansen | 10 episodes Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Best Actress(1953) Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Continuing Performance by an Actress in a Dramatic Series(1957) |
| 1957 | Zane Grey Theatre | Sarah Jolland | episode:The Bitter Land |
| 1959 | The United States Steel Hour | Lillian Granet | episode:Seed of Guilt |
| 1962 | Dr. Kildare | Katie Harris | episode:An Ancient Office |
| 1963 | The Doctors and the Nurses | Marcella Higgins | episode:The Saturday Evening of Time |
| 1965 | For the People | Mrs. Murray | episode:The Killing of One Human Being |
| 1969 | One Life to Live | Dr. Kate Nolan | Unknown episodes |
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